


The Angel Room: Makael Interviews Castiel

by CatherineinNB



Series: The Angel Room [9]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon Compliant, Episode: s14e08 Byzantium, Gen, Interview with an Angel, Season/Series 14, Season/Series 14 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 08:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17097386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatherineinNB/pseuds/CatherineinNB
Summary: After the events of "Byzantium," Makael checks in with Castiel about the state of Jack's soul ... and touches upon their shared past.





	The Angel Room: Makael Interviews Castiel

**Author's Note:**

> **_The Context:_ **   
>  Everything is changing.
> 
> _ The Angel Room  _ started as a way for seraphim Makael, a refugee from the  _ Supernatural  _ universe, to keep track of events after Michael’s arrival from Apocalypse World. 
> 
> Makael has always been good at keeping to herself. It’s why she survived the intra-angel conflicts after the Great Fall. So when Michael arrived and started tracking down angels, Makael decided that it was time to find a new universe to call home. Using the spell that, years ago, propelled the Winchesters into an alternate universe, Makael was ready to make a new life for herself in ours. A quiet life. A human life, much like the one she had lived after the Fall. 
> 
> Then she discovered  _ Supernatural _ .
> 
> She told herself it was boredom, that it was curiosity, that it was about immersing herself the very human phenomenon of fandom, which prompted her to start pulling characters into our universe for interviews after each new episode of Season 14 aired.
> 
> But now she’s realizing that it’s more than just interviews. It’s more than just about experiencing humanity through fandom. And it’s much, much more than simple curiosity. Makael is discovering that she  _ cares _ , which is a very disconcerting realization for an angel who’s always put self-preservation above all else. 
> 
> She worries about what’s happening to the people she’s interviewing. She’s preoccupied with their well-being and with their struggles. She cares about their survival.
> 
> Which, in her estimation, doesn’t bode well for her own.
> 
> What does this mean for  _ The Angel Room _ ? For Makael herself? As of yet, it’s all very unclear. The only thing that is clear?  _ Everything is changing. _
> 
> **_The Setting:_ **   
>  A modern room, equipped with low pile, beige carpet, is well appointed. Along one wall runs a line of bookcases; along the opposite wall sits a comfortable, poppy-red couch with clean lines. Facing the couch is a set of dark brown leather chairs, with deep seats. In between is a glass-topped coffee table.
> 
> Beyond the seating arrangement is a wall of glass windows. Situated in front of the windows, a desk is sparsely equipped with a laptop and office supplies. Two metal chairs sit in front of the desk, with an office chair behind it.
> 
> The windows overlook a charming downtown scene that might be in the oldest section of Boston, or any other city of that sort along the East Coast.
> 
> All is neat and spare to the point of near-painfulness. Only the few decorations that dot the space soften it: the neatly folded cream-and-white quilt slung over one arm of the couch, a piece of driftwood here, a decorative stone or a bird’s feather there.

**_The Interview:  
_ ** _ Thin winter sunlight filters down from an overcast sky and into the room. If someone were to stand at the windows and look down to the streets below, they would see giant wreaths hanging from the streetlamps, the garlands studded with Christmas ornaments in shades of red and gold and crimson. A skiff of recent snow dusts the sidewalks, still swirling and settling in the gusty wind. _

_ Makael is wearing a pair of faded and ripped jeans and a v-necked navy t-shirt, emblazoned with a Christmas tree that seems rather overburdened by the large, cross-legged figure that perches on top. Makael stands next to the bookshelves, waiting awkwardly, crossing and uncrossing her arms as she faces the door. Her feet are clad in a pair of thick-knitted navy and cream wool socks. Her laptop waits for her on the couch as she chews on her lower lip. _

_ After several moments, the doorknob turns; Castiel steps through from the other side. He gives the room a quick sweep with his gaze, although his hands are empty of any weapon. A faint smile quirks across Makael’s lips as she recognizes the soldier in him, still checking doors and corners. Castiel’s eyes come to rest on Makael as he shuts the door behind him. _

**Castiel:** [ _ with a mixture of warmth and caution _ ] Sister.  
**Makael:** [ _flashes Castiel a quick, nervous smile_ ] Castiel. Hello. It’s … it’s good to see you.  
**Castiel:** [ _gives Makael a look that is genuinely curious and rueful at the same time_ ] It is? I admit I was surprised when I felt the summons of your sigil. You’ve … kept your distance ever since you revealed yourself to Sam. Which I understand … [ _in a rush_ ] Many of the angels have mixed feelings about me—  
**Makael:** No, that’s not it—not it at  _ all _ . I … I hid away from all of you for so long, I wasn’t sure if  _ you  _ would want to speak to  _ me _ . So I kept … putting it off.  
**Castiel:** [ _alertly, taking a step forward_ ] Has something happened to call me here, then? Have you gotten any insight about Michael? The location of the spear?  
**Makael:** [ _shakes head_ ] I just—I wanted to check with you about Jack. [ _urgently_ ] He really is okay?  
**Castiel:** [ _halts; expression softens_ ] Yes. He’s really okay.  
**Makael:** … the effect upon his soul from the spell to bring him back—?  
**Castiel:** [ _narrows eyes_ ] —seems to be minimal. I’ve been keeping a close eye.  
**Makael:** And his personality seems to be intact? You haven’t noticed any shifts in his behavior?  
**Castiel:** No. Nothing like that. [ _furrows brow_ ] You seem very concerned. Do you know something through this …  _ Supernatural  _ show that we don’t?  
**Makael:**  No, it’s—Rowena pointed out that a nephilim is delicately balanced, that without his grace Jack’s being fell into chaos. With everything already … disrupted in Jack’s system, I’m worried about what losing even a small part of his soul might do to him—  
**Castiel:** [ _bristling_ ] We didn’t have a choice. We  _ had  _ to find a way to bring him back—  
**Makael:** I know it wasn’t a choice made lightly. [ _stumbling over her words_ ] This isn’t—I’m not meaning to be critical. I just—you’ll watch him closely? Keep monitoring his soul?  
**Castiel:** [ _frowns_ ] Of course.  
**Makael:** Good. [ _rakes her hand through her dark hair_ ] I’m sorry. I know I have no right to intrude, to ask any of this. I’m not his family. I’m—I’m not used to these feelings. This …  _ caring.  _   
**Castiel:** [ _gentling_ ] Technically you  _ are  _ his family. An … aunt of sorts. [ _looks at Makael thoughtfully_ ] And I remember the … shock it was, when  _ I  _ first realized that I was coming to care about humans and their concerns. [ _slants her a sly look; humor edging his voice_ ] It doesn’t get any better from here on out.  
**Makael:** [ _wryly_ ] Thanks for the encouragement. [ _sobers; repeats, as if to reassure herself_ ] Jack’s okay.  
**Castiel:** [ _lays his hand gently on Makael’s upper arm_ ] Yes. He really is.  
**Makael:** [ _appears to be momentarily startled by the very human gesture of reassurance, then smiles a genuine smile up at Castiel_ ] It really  _ is  _ good to see you, Brother.  
**Castiel:** [ _opens his mouth to reply; gaze shifts; he stops and tilts his head in confusion_ ] I—Makael, is that  _ me  _ on the human garment you’re wearing?  
**Makael:** [ _looks down, then back up; beams suddenly_ ] Do you like it?  
**Castiel:** [ _reads the script on the shirt_ ] “I believe in the little tree topper.”  
**Makael:** [ _enthusiastically_ ] Right? Because you’re an angel, and humans typically—  
**Castiel:** —typically put effigies of angels on top of trees in their homes at this time of year. An odd tradition. Yes, I understand the joke. Now, anyway. At the time …  
**Makael:** [ _matter-of-factly_ ] Well, to be fair,  at the time you were still without your memory and had just found out you’re an angel. And the whole conversation took place in a parking lot while you were trying to determine if you could take out a bunch of demons and save Sam. It’s not surprising it went over your head.  
**Castiel:** [ _with a look of bemusement_ ] Dean said how strange it was, having you know these things that have happened as if you were there with us. I just hadn’t anticipated conversations from my past ending up on—  
**Makael:** —a t-shirt? [ _shrugs_ ] Well, it’s for a good cause. They all are.  
**Castiel:** … there’s more than one?  
**Makael:** Oh, honey. [ _grins_ ]  
**Castiel:** [ _frowns_ ]  
**Makael:** We have some time before the sigil burns out. [ _hesitates_ ] That is, if you’d like to stay? If you need to hurry back—  
**Castiel:** I have time. [ _the corners of his mouth tip up in a smile; he allows Makael to usher him over to the leather chairs, and_ settles]  
 **Makael:** [ _slips onto the couch, tucking her feet beneath her_ ]  
**Castiel:** [ _continues earnestly_ ] When Sam first told me of your interview, I felt such relief, Sister, to know that another of us still survived. To know that  _ you  _ survived—a member of the Heavenly Choir. [ _there is something like wonder in his voice_ ]  
**Makael:** [ _her affect shifting abruptly from sunny to resolute_ ] Yes. [ _drops gaze_ ] Castiel, I need to apologize to you.  
**Castiel:** What for?  
**Makael:** For my choices after we Fell. I was a coward. I ran, and I hid. I didn’t support you when you needed every ally you could get. I know it’s too late to make it right, but … [ _squaring her shoulders_ ] at the very least you should have my apology. [ _pauses, meeting his gaze directly_ ] I’m sorry.  
**Castiel:**  [ _simply_ ] You have nothing to apologize for. You were never a warrior.  
**Makael:** [ _shakes head_ ] It doesn’t matter that I wasn’t a warrior, Castiel. If anyone has shown us that we can become more than the sum of our original design, it’s you. [ _lips thin_ ] I should have fought for you. You were always kind to me … even after God left us. Even when the others derided us, held us in contempt for being …  _ useless _ . [ _makes a face, as if the word is bitter to her_ ] You protected us from Raphael when he would have killed us all for not pledging allegiance to him—even though we hadn’t pledged allegiance to you, either. You were a friend to us. And I failed you when I had the chance to return your kindness.  
**Castiel:** Had you made yourself known after we Fell, you would have risked slaughter. [ _expression becomes distant, saddened_ ] So many of the Choir died during the wars in Heaven, and afterwards, on Earth … I find myself hoping that others followed your example, and went into hiding as well. [ _shifts in his seat, leaning his elbows on his knees_ ] But enough of the past. I’d rather focus on the present. This new … role you’ve built over the past few months—you’ve been very helpful. I’ve been grateful for the insights you’ve offered us.  
**Makael:** [ _flushes, pleased_ ] Thank you.  
**Castiel:** [ _pressing on_ ] And you visited the Bunker while Jack was sick, didn’t you? I sensed your presence after you left. You gave Jack some relief when his lungs were failing him.  
**Makael:** [ _softly_ ] Yes, I did.  
**Castiel:** [ _with simple gratitude_ ] Thank you for that. My grace was reaching burnout, and Jack wouldn’t let me help him anymore. [ _pointedly_ ] A  _ coward _ would not have risked coming back to help him while Michael is still roaming our world. Especially knowing, as you must from this …  _ show _ , that he has broken through the Bunker’s warding once already, and could do so again. [ _pauses_ ] How did  _ you _ manage to get past the wards?  
**Makael:** [ _shrugs_ ] I didn’t try to overpower it, if that’s what you’re suggesting.  I simply figured out the spell that allows  _ you  _ to enter when other angels are kept out, and I replicated it, altering it slightly to allow me inside. I erased the blood magic when I left.  
**Castiel:** [ _clearly impressed_ ] That isn’t well-known magic.  
**Makael:** [ _dismissively_ ] I had a lot of time on my hands after I Fell. I studied a lot—about us. Angel lore. I think … I think it was my way of staying … connected.  
**Castiel:** Clever. Innovative. [ _arches a brow_ ] Determined. You have the makings of a hunter, Makael. If you ever decide to return to our Earth, that is.  
**Makael:** [ _turns a pleasant shade of red, flustered by the compliment_ ]  
**Castiel:** [ _looks at Makael thoughtfully before he changes the subject_ ] Jack told us that you’d visited him. Sam chalked it up to a dream, and Dean was too distraught to care one way or another. [ _hesitates_ ] Jack said … [ _gaze becomes searching_ ] Jack said that you sang to him?  
**Makael:** [ _shifts in corner of the couch, tucking knees up to her chin in an unconsciously self-protective gesture_ ] I did.  
**Castiel:** [ _says nothing for a long moment; there are many things going on behind his eyes_ ] I haven’t heard one of the Choir sing since … [ _voice trails off_ ]  
**Makael:** Since God left us. No. [ _her voice is tight_ ] I don’t think any of us sang again after he was gone.  
**Castiel:** [ _reverently_ ] The gift you gave Jack … I can’t express—  
**Makael:** It was a poor gift, Castiel. I  _ wanted  _ to heal him. I hoped, when I looked at him with my grace, that I would catch something that you had missed … that I would be able to save him.  
**Castiel:** [ _gently_ ] Makael …  
**Makael:** [ _stubbornly_ ] If I had healed him, he wouldn’t have died, and you— [ _cuts off abruptly_ ]  
**Castiel:** [ _narrows eyes_ ] And I … what?  
**Makael:** And you wouldn’t have made a deal with The Empty. To save him.  
**Castiel:** [ _voice and expression gone flat_ ] You saw that.  
**Makael:** _ Everyone _ here saw that. And everyone here saw that you’re hiding it from Sam and Dean. [ _fiercely_ ] You should tell them. Anytime anyone keeps a secret from anyone else on  _ Supernatural _ , it comes out at the worst possible time in the worst possible way. Whether it’s scripted or God or karma—it just  _ does _ , Castiel, and you _ know  _ that.  
**Castiel:** [ _coolly]_ Are you done?  
**Makael:** [ _stares, then bursts out_ ] No! It was a stupid deal! [ _adds, before Castiel can say anything in reply_ ] I know you were making the best of a very bad situation, but … you deserve to be happy. [ _passionately_ ] And you deserve to live your life without the worry that the moment you feel happiness, it could all be taken away.  
**Castiel:** [ _sits back, taken aback by her words; momentary grief flashes across his face; then, with a lopsided smile_ ] Well, I don’t know what I do or don’t deserve—but if life continues to go the way it has for the past ten years, I think I’ll be safe from The Empty for a good while.  
**Makael:** [ _stares a moment, then says, icily_ ] That’s not funny.  
**Castiel:** [ _tilts head_ ] It’s a little funny.  
**Makael:** [ _narrows eyes in a manner very similar to Castiel’s; growls_ ] Don’t  _ Dean  _ me.  
**Castiel:** [ _eyes widen slightly in surprise_ ]  
**Makael:** [ _sighs, realizing she’s not making any headway_ ] —so yes, I find my ‘gift’ to Jack lacking. It did no real good. It spared none of you any suffering. And I couldn’t even offer him my real voice here … just my vessel’s, which is a—a  _ whisper _ of what I had in Heaven—  
**Castiel:** Even a sliver of your voice—a fraction of it … [ _shakes head_ ] I have never told you this, but in between deployments with the garrison, I used to loiter by the doors to the Throne Room to catch just an echo of the Choir. [ _smiles at the reminiscence_ ] It made me feel closer. To him—to God. [ _leans forward, reaches across the glass table; catches Makael’s hands impulsively_ ]  
**Makael:** [ _gazes at him, startled_ ]  
**Castiel:** Sister, listen to me _.  _ That music— _ your voices _ —the memory if it has sustained me in some of my darkest moments. It reminded me that beauty and goodness existed when this world was anything but. [ _gently releases her hands and sits back; folds his own hands together and looks down at them contemplatively_ ] And later … much later, I realized that the music you sang … it wasn’t _ just _ a reflection of God’s glory. It was more than that. He may have designed you to sing, but  _ you _ made the singing your own. I think that’s why he enjoyed listening to you so very much. And that, too … was important for me to understand. [ _resolutely_ ] So no, you didn’t save Jack … but you brought him comfort, and you brought beauty into a very dark place, and I know he will never forget that. And neither will I.  
**Makael:** [ _tears have gathered in her eyes; she lets out a shaking breath_ ]  
**Castiel:** [ _glances toward the door_ ] The spell is beginning to fade. [ _rises to feet_ ] I should be going.  
**Makael:** [ _swallows; stutters_ ] O-of course. [ _rises abruptly as well, walks with Castiel to the doorway, where he comes to a halt; she hugs herself as if she is cold_ ]  
**Castiel:** [ _notes the gesture; takes a tentative step toward Makael, spreading arms slightly_ ] May I? It’s a very human thing to do, but … I find it a comfort with old friends—  
**Makael:** [ _before he can finish the thought, silently steps into Castiel’s offered embrace and wraps her arms around him tightly; after a moment, her words muffled by his trenchcoat_ ] Thank you. For everything.  
**Castiel:** [ _folds his arms around her; a look of affection flits across his face_ ] You are most welcome, Sister.  
**Makael:** [ _steps back slightly, tilts head so she can look up at him_ ] You’ll tell Jack how glad I am that he’s okay?  
**Castiel:** [ _smiles_ ] Yes.  
**Makael:** [ _nods; hesitates_ ] Be …  _ well _ , Brother.  
**Castiel:** [ _notes her choice of words; returns the nod with slight irony_ ] I hope to see you again in the near future, Makael. [ _offers her another lopsided smile, sad and gentle all at once, as he opens the door and steps through to the other side; he closes it behind him quietly but firmly_ ]  
**Makael:** [ _reaches out and touches door as sigil burns away to nothing; whispers_ ] … be well.

**END SCENE.**


End file.
